Just a Little Bit Earlier
by parmesanprincess
Summary: Everything is the same, except that Belle made it to the Beast just a little bit earlier in this version. How would it all go down if Gaston and the Beast never made it on the roof?


Downstairs was chaos, but there wasn't a moment to spare. Belle shoved past the fighting townsfolk and servants, searching for the Beast. She couldn't find him anywhere, and so she raced upstairs to search for him there, ignoring those screaming her name from either side of the skirmish. There wasn't time, it could already be too late. Heart racing, she found Gaston, bow and arrow in hand, creeping into the Beast's quarters. Overcome with fear and adrenaline, Belle acted fast, bolting towards Gaston. He turned around just in time to block himself from her charge, but the momentum sent them both hurdling into the Beast's room and onto the floor.

The Beast leapt up from the chaise he had been brooding on, elated that Belle had returned to him. He had lost hope, but now he had something to fight for. Belle tried to scramble over to the Beast, but Gaston grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her into his clutches. The Beast readied himself to pounce on Gaston, when Gaston raised a dagger against Belle's neck.

"Not so fast, Beast." Gaston growled, bringing himself to his feet.

Belle tried to squirm free of his grip, but Gaston had his powerful arm wrapped around her tight. He squeezed her, and Belle felt as though she were going to snap in two.

"Don't you hurt her!" The Beast cried angrily.

"Hurt her?" Gaston chuckled maniacally. "Why would I hurt the woman that is to be my wife? And who are you to lecture me on how to treat her?"

"I will never be your wife, Gaston. Let me go, I love the Beast." Belle gasped, as Gaston crushed her in his arms.

"You'd choose this, this _monster_ over me?" Gaston asked, anger rising.

"You're the monster Gaston." said Belle before sinking her teeth into Gaston's arm.

Gaston cried out and threw Belle hard to the ground. The Beast took the opportunity to strike, pouncing on Gaston like a wolf. The Beast snapped his muzzle ferociously, searching for his neck, but Gaston was able to evade the bites. The two wrestled on the ground, rolling out of control this way and that, knocking over furniture and denting walls. The Beast scratched Gaston deeply all over his torso, turning his shirt into bloody shreds, but Gaston was able to hold his own, stabbing the Beast lightly in his chest a few times. Belle was terrified, but she didn't want anyone to die. She ran in front of the window as the two started thrashing toward it, in the hopes of keeping them from going right through the glass. The Beast saw her there and stopped fighting, worried that he might hurt her in his rage. But Gaston took the Beast's pause as his chance to retaliate. Gaston drew his dagger high in the air, and moved to send it swiftly into the Beast's back while he was distracted by Belle. But while the Beast was distracted, Belle was not.

"No!" she cried out, pushing the Beast aside just in the knick of time.

The dagger plunged into Belle, just left of her heart, deep enough to stand on its own when Gaston pulled away his hand in horror. Gaston fell to his knees, and was only able to cry out for a moment before the Beast was on him, ripping out his throat in a single chomp. But there was no time to celebrate the victory. Blood was already beginning to stain the top of Belle's dress, and her skin was already as pale as a corpse. The Beast found the overturned chaise, corrected it, and carried Belle over to it, making sure not to disturb the dagger still nestled in her chest.

The Beast screamed for someone to get a doctor, but downstairs the battle was still in progress. He tried to fetch someone himself, but Belle grabbed his paw as he turned to go.

"There's nothing they can do, Beast. Just sit with me, for a little while."

"Don't say that Belle, the doctor can fix this. I'll get him, and they'll pull the knife out, and they'll fix you, and we, we can be together Belle." The Beast protested, panicking.

Belle smiled and stroked the hair around his face.

"It's okay, Beast. Just hold my hand and sit with me for a little while. It will be alright." Belle softly assured him.

Tears began to well in the Beast's big, blue eyes. He leaned over Belle, careful of the dagger, and held her close to him.

"No, it won't be okay Belle." He wept. "How am I...I can't live without you. I love you Belle."

Outside, lights began to stream down amongst the rain, and the dark room was illuminated by their colors. The Beast began to rise, though he fought against it, reaching for Belle down on the chaise. She smiled wearily at him, as he began to glow and spin slowly in the air. Still he fought. He didn't care about the curse anymore, he would trade everything away just to be next to Belle in this moment, what could very well be their last moment together. He became tangled in his cloak, and the glowing grew brighter. But just before the light consumed him, he saw Belle gasp, her eyes open wide. No, not yet, not without me.

Suddenly, he could see nothing but the light, and a strange sensation filled every fiber of his being. In an instant, his fur, paws, horns, everything, everything was gone. He slowly returned to the ground, and the magic light dissipated. After all of these years, he was finally a man again. Tears of happiness streamed down his face. But not because of his transformation. Because there before him was Belle, herself descending from the air, healed by the same transformative light. She touched her hand to her chest, herself not believing the dagger was really gone. The giggled estatically, and the Beast, Adam, ran to embrace her. The two laughed and twirled about the room together, so happy they didn't even notice the third person the magic light had taken upon itself to heal.

Adam felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to find Gaston, alive but temperamentally unchanged, standing before him. He was now bigger than Adam, and while Adam had lost his claws and physique, Gaston still had a quiver full of arrows at his disposal. Belle held onto Adam, and Adam held onto Belle. Whatever the future held, they were going to face it together. Gaston reached into his quiver and pulled out an arrow.

But he didn't get much further than that. Bursting through the doors came the castle's faithful servants, all humans once more, ready to celebrate with their beloved master. Lumiere and Cogsworth took only a moment to spring into action, each grabbing one of Gaston's huge arms, each trying to do a better job at saving the master than the other. The servants cheered and assisted the two in dragging Gaston out of the room, out of the castle, and out of their lives.

Belle pulled Adam's face to hers and kissed him.

"I love you too."


End file.
